"What's Shenmue?" was a special premier disc in Japan given to those who pre-ordered Shenmue, additionally another edition of the disc was given away in Famitsu, a Japanese gaming magazine. The only difference between the two is that the Famitsu version has an orange cover, as opposed to a blue cover. Due to a delay in releasing Shenmue in Japan, anyone who pre-ordered it was given this on the date it was intended to be released on. The game itself works like a demo of Shenmue, featuring Dobuita, a town in Yokosuka, although not all of it is accessible. You play as Ryo much like you would in the full game. The disc also includes 4 of the movies included on the Passport disc of the original Shenmue that explain aspects of the game.

Back in June 1999, when the Dreamcast was still alive and Shenmue was topping most-wanted charts everywhere, Sega gave away a demo of Shenmue with all new Dreamcasts in Japan, simply called 'What's Shenmue?'. This humble demo disc is now one of the most sought-after pieces for fans of Shenmue the world over. Here is the full story of this great little oddity.

A couple of months before the original Shenmue was released in Japan, Sega started hyping it up by giving away a demo disc with all new Dreamcasts. This demo, What's Shenmue?, was hard to obtain even in Japan and because of this it was up to $100 in importers and even then you'd be very lucky to get one. The demo takes about 10 minutes to complete and limits the player to Dobuita Street. The player as Ryo must find Sega's president, Yukawa-san, to ask him about Shenmue by collecting information from various sources and beating up some thugs in a QTE (the Enoki QTE from the full game). When Ryo tracks him down, you have to chase Yukawa-san in an alternate version of the Jimmy Yan QTE from the end of disc 2 of Shenmue. It's short and simple, but it would really whet your appetite for the full game! The demo even has it's own little ending in which Yukawa-san is sitting in front of piles of unsold Dreamcasts but cheers when he sees a Shenmue poster on the wall. In addition to this little playable section, the disc contains the videos of characters explaining the various systems in the game from the Shenmue Passport.

You'll be very lucky to find one now, and even luckier to find them for less than $100. You could check eBay, but I haven't seen one on there. Maybe if you strike lucky your local import store might get one though.

============================================================================= What's Shenmue English Translation for Sega Dreamcast----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.0 - September 1st, 2014 - Document written by IlDucci=============================================================================If you see any bugs not mentioned in this Readme, please go tohttp://www.shenmuedojo.com/forum/ in order to get support in English.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------CONTENTS: - Project Credits - Changelog - How to apply the patch - How to burn the game for its use on a Dreamcast - Troubleshooting - Special Thanks-----------------------------------------------------------------------------ENGLISH PROJECT CREDITS:Hacking/Programming: YZB, Indiket, PacoChan, IlDucciTranslation : Brett "Switch" Chandler, RakimProofreading : Merlin FontanaGraphic Editors : BlueMue, IlDucciShenTrad Toolset : Manic, Ayla, SiZious, ShenDreamExtras Design : Gin, BlueMue, IlDucci-----------------------------------------------------------------------------CHANGELOG:1.0 - First release: - Every menu and subtitle is fully translated into English. A few key graphics were translated as well.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------How to apply the patch:

This patch is designed to be applied to a backup from your original game. In order to make a backup from your disc, you'll need your Sega Dreamcast and the SD Card Adapter. You can Google the tutorials for doing so. The people behind this project are completely against piracy and have created this patch ONLY for using it on a backup of your original disc.

You will need a GDI image of What's Shenmue. The patching program doesn't admit CDI or MDF/MDS images because those formats include modifications needed to make them work. Don't worry, the patcher will turn the GDI into a MDF/MDS image, ready to be used on emulator or on your console.

VERY IMPORTANT:

The patcher has been tested only with the discs that contain the following code on the inner ring of the non-labeled side: - 610-7179-0133A 11M1 o 11MB1 (TOSEC Version) - 610-7179-0133A H1723E.

We've made the patcher compatible with any other editions, but if you have a disc with a different ring code and the patcher gives you an error, please contact us through the websites mentioned at the top of this readme file.

If you want to play the translation in a emulator, we recommend using Demul version 0.5.8.2. At the moment of writing this document, it's the version that gives less trouble.

In case the patcher gives an error, write it down and send the note to us. There's a chance antivirus programs could interfere with the program when it's running, but we do not recommend disabling them before using the program. It's reported that the patcher won't work with Windows emulators (like Wine).

If you want to distribute the patch or put it on your website, please consult us first. Under no circumstances distribute or upload to the Internet pre-patched game images, nor gain any sort of profit using the work of the people behind this project. This translation is made to be published as a patch and to be used by the legitimate owners of the original game.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------HOW TO BURN THE GAME FOR ITS USE ON A DREAMCAST:

It's important to have the most up-to-date version of Alcohol 120%. We recommend using version 1.9.8 or higher.

If you want to be 100% sure the image will work, first try it on an emulator.If it works, it's most likely that it will work on your console.

The burning process depends on the recorder and your console. On most cases,the recommended setup is using RAW DAO at the lowest speed available.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------TROUBLESHOOTING: - The patcher shows an unknown code and doesn't make the images properly: In most cases, we've solved the problem by going to another computer. Copy the entire error window to a text file, include the log.txt file that will appear on the same folder as the patcher, upload those to a free file hosting and send us the links to the official topic on Shenmue Dojo in order to get support in English. - My Dreamcast won't read the disc: Please check the HOW TO BURN THE GAME FOR ITS USE ON A DREAMCAST section. Most likely, you'll have to setup the speed and recording method. - Alcohol 120% shows an error when trying to burn the image: Either something's wrong with your burner or you are using an old version of Alcohol 120%. Check that you can burn other images correctly.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------SPECIAL THANKS:FamilyGuy & HyKan for the CDDA tracks format.kRYPT, fackue, James Reiner, Master Kyodai, xhizors92 & Gin for all their knowledge. Fйnix, Ryo Suzuki, Rock_Lee-Vk for their support.Yu Suzuki, SEGA of America, SEGA Europe, Assemblergames.com, DCEmulation, dreamcast-talk.com, SegaSaturno.com, Dreamcast.es, CUE, SkyBladeCloud, Neoblast, Chui, Blai, Raizing, DC-SWAT, Wesker, saturn_worship, TunneT, Ziming, TuxTheWise, Steve "Klarth" Monaco, RedComet, Josй Gutiйrrez & Rubйn Vera, Stuart Peacock, Alberto Lloret... And all those I am missing.=============================================================================END OF FILE=============================================================================